


Welcome Home (what now?)

by Summerwolf



Series: All Alone [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers Movie Night, Because apparently I can't write fluff without movies being involved, Bruce banner is around... but not mentioned all that much, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone is a good bro, Everyone needs and gets a hug, Fluff, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Movie Night, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Has a Family, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Slight Magic, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Though most of the hurt was last fic, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, and slightly confused, but fine, sorry dude, this is more the comfort bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28150038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summerwolf/pseuds/Summerwolf
Summary: Third part of my "All Alone" series. Could be read as a standalone, but it probably won't make much sense if you don't read the other two first.*~*Tony remembered being vanished. Remembered being dragged out of time and space and hidden somewhere else. And yet at the same time, he didn't.It was weird, to say the least. Like he'd known exactly what was going on the entire time, yet had also known nothing at all.He'd been aware time was passing outside of the empty bubble that surrounded him, and yet he'd had no idea how long it'd been. He'd been aware that he wasn't alone, but he'd had no idea who was with him. He'd been aware that he was supposed to be somewhere important, but he'd had no idea where.*~* OR *~*Peter managed to get everyone back, and everything is perfect, but then Tony notices that his kid has not been looking after himself. Movie nights and cuddles follow.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: All Alone [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031049
Comments: 7
Kudos: 76





	Welcome Home (what now?)

**Author's Note:**

> Did I expect to write this when I posted the last one? No. Not in the slightest, but Ninjazz asked for more... and so here it is!  
> Thank you so much for clicking on my story!!  
> I hope you enjoy!

Tony remembered being vanished. Remembered being dragged out of time and space and hidden somewhere else. And yet at the same time, he didn't.

It was weird, to say the least. Like he'd known exactly what was going on the entire time, yet had also known nothing at all.

He'd been aware time was passing outside of the empty bubble that surrounded him, and yet he'd had no idea how long it'd been. He'd been aware that he wasn't alone, but he'd had no idea who was with him. He'd been aware that he was supposed to be somewhere important, but he'd had no idea where.

He'd known that there was someone out there, someone waiting for him - for them all - to come back, but he didn't know who!

It was frustrating beyond belief, and Tony just knew that if he could string more than three thoughts together at a time, he'd be desperately planning a way to get out.

\---

In the end Tony didn't need to do anything, and if everyone else was to be believed, they didn't have to either.

One moment he was floating, barely feeling real, and then everything was extremely real. Suddenly he was back in the compound, nearly everyone he cared about surrounding him, the world feeling a million times more solid than it had before. Possibly ever.

"Tony?" It was May, wearing comfy clothes which Tony knew - from talking to Peter - were her day off, sit around all day, clothes, looking just as confused as Tony felt. She was doing a good job of keeping calm, and if Tony didn't know she was definitely a civilian, he would have probably assumed she was a superhero too, just from how well she was taking  _ whatever  _ was going on.

"Yeah, it's me. We're back," Toby ran a hand through his hair, tugging slightly to try and ground himself back into reality. He still felt like he wasn't fully out, feeling something in his chest swoop around like there was nothing solid to stand on.

"Do you know what happened? I was eating cereal-" May paused, a far off look appearing in her eyes as she squinted, clearly thinking hard - and getting nothing if the frustration on her face was anything to go off. "And then I wasn't."

Tony nodded his head, peering round the room to check that everyone was there. Nat and Steve were talking to each other, both of them with their phones out to check something. Bruce was in the kitchen, taking the time to be alone and try and calm down, before he accidently Hulk'd out from the stress. Ned and MJ - and wow, they took the kids too? - were looking around the room as well, looking worried, and in any other circumstances Tony was certain that Ned at the very least would be star struck. 

They'd all been gone. All of them. Whoever had done this, had taken the time to take them all. To take the Avengers, to take May, to take a pair of teenagers. "Yeah," Tony muttered, turning his attention back to his conversation with May, "I don't know who it was, but someone got the jump on us too. They must have used magic, or some really good tech."

"Guys?" Steve said from where he was standing, just by the couch, looking up from his phone to look around at everyone individually, "does anyone know how long has passed?"

Tony walked over to try and see what he prompted Steve's question, seeing the blanket spread haphazardly over the couch, the cushion which had clearly been used as a pillow, the paper which covered the coffee table.

"Peter," Ned muttered, pointing at one of the many sheets of writing on the table, "that's his handwriting."

"There's a few dirty dishes in the kitchen," Bruce called from the other room, "though from the looks of things he was going the dishwashing as he went along. That or we haven't been gone that long."

"My phone says it's been a month," MJ said, staring at her phone screen, "though I don't have any worried texts, so I'm not sure if that's right."

"Maybe it was part of the spell? Making it so no one noticed we were gone?"

"Peter noticed," May whispered, her eyes slightly haunted, "and if we're all here, then who was left with him?" The room went silent as they all absorbed the information, as they all realised that there would have been no one. Except… maybe…

"FRIDAY?" Tony said to the ceiling, tilting his head backwards as though he would be able to see the AI, "What's been happening since we were taken?"

“Welcome back Tony, everyone,” FRIDAY said warmly from the ceiling speakers, though even May - who barely spent any time at the compound - could hear there was something off in her voice. “You disappeared seven weeks ago. Peter moved himself here full time about three days into that, and has been researching on who took you and how to get you back since then.”

“And where is he now?” Natasha asked, peering around the clearly empty area.

“He left five hours ago to find Midnight Rider, she’s the one who took you, and hasn’t returned yet. Karen’s data tells me that he’s still alive, though I can’t tell you what he’s doing, Karen’s camera has been blocked by an external force.”

“Do you have his location?” Tony asked, feeling panic starting to bubble up in his chest. 

"No, not right now," Friday replied. The room was silent, all of them hanging on to her every word, but even without anyone saying anything, the air of worry filling the room was thick enough to be cut with a blunt knife. "I will inform you if I get any new information."

\----

"Peter is on his way back here." It had only been a couple of minutes, ten at most if Tony had to guess without actually checking the time, yet it had felt like years. The room had been tense, no one able to stay still for more than a few moments at a time before they moved again, worrying about what could have happened to Peter.

No one seemed to even breathe as they waited, no one moved as the elevator started sinking, and then rising again, no one said anything as the doors opened.

Peter was standing there, looking like he'd seen a ghost - or maybe several - his eye wide and shining with tears.

Peter threw himself out, ending up in May's arms, but reaching out and grabbing onto Tony at the same time. Tony could feel dispair growing in his chest. How awful had Peter's last couple of weeks - months? - been that they reduced him to… to this? He'd never been like this before, normally acting more like a stereotypical teenager when it came to random hugs.

Clearly that had been thrown out the window for this.

"You're back!" Peter's voice was watery and wobbly, pain and relief filling every syllable.

"Yeah, we're back kid," Tony whispered back, unable to get his voice to go any louder as he stepped forwards to pull Peter into a proper hug.

"You're all back."

"We all are," Nat's voice came from behind Tony, and then he was enveloped in a group hug, Peter sandwiched in the middle. There were tears everywhere, the feeling of wrongness that had been filling the compound finally melted away, and it's normal feel returned.

Peter was okay.

Everyone who had been taken was okay.

Everything was okay.

Except…

Except Tony knew how bony Peter was, and hugging him right now, he felt way too bony for it to be normal. And even with his eyes red rimmed from crying, the dark bags under his eyes, almost black now that Tony was cencentrating on them, stood out.

So Peter clearly hadn't been sleeping well, and almost definitely hadn't been eating well.

"Peter?" Tiny started slowly, "have you been looking after yourself while we've been gone?"

Peter didn't move, but Tony could feel the way his muscles froze up. He knew he'd been caught out, and even without Peter saying anything, Tony had his answer.

"Come on kid, you know better than this."

"I was worried," Peter replied, shrugging as much as he could while surrounded on all sides by a tight hug, "I had bigger things on my mind than self care."

"It's barely even self care," May pointed out, joining in their conversation, "it's just basic keeping you alive."

"Well finding all of you was more important than that too!" The words seemed to hang in the air for a long moment, everyone there had heard them and seeing as they all cared about Peter a great deal, none of them were happy with it.

"Fuck that," MJ spat, the first one to actually find a way to put their feelings into words, "you're just as important as us! Can you imagine how we would have felt if we had come back, only to find out you were gone!"

"Just as well I didn't lose then," Peter muttered under his breath, apparently momentarily fogetting how close everyone was to him, and the fact most of them were superheros.

"And what do you mean by that?" Natasha asked, her eyes hard when Tony glanced up to look at her.

They all slowly pulled backwards, moving out of the hug so they could all watch Peter as he tried to tell them what had happened.

"Can we all get some coffee or something first?" Peter sighed, clearly not looking forward to explaining the full story.

"Sure thing kid," Tony replied, taking pity on the kid, even though he was as desperate to find out what happened as everyone else.

\----

Ten minutes later and they were all gathered in the living room all over again, steaming mugs clasped in each of their hands.

"I found Midnight Rider," Peter started slowly, his eyes stuck on his coffee so that he didn't have to look at anyone else. Tony hated it, he hated seeing the kid - his kid - looking so sad and so dejected, but he needed the full story. He needed to know what happened. "She admitted to taking you, and suggested a deal."

"A deal?" Steve questioned when Peter didn't continue.

"We would fight, and if I won, then she'd bring you all back, and give up on the crime life."

"And if you lost?"

Tony knew the answer before Peter even opened his mouth, could see it in his body language and his everted eyes and his hunched shoulders and the way he hesitated before answering.

It still hurt just as much when the words were said.

"Then she would frame me for her crimes, and I would help her."

"Oh Peter," May whispered against Peter's hair, and Tony was glad someone was saying something, because his own words were trapped in his throat and he couldn't have spoken if he'd tried. He'd known it would be something along those lines, but now it felt real, and now he knew that Peter had been given the choice between himself or the rest of them, and he'd chosen everyone else.

"Okay," Tony said, breathing deeply and trying to get everything back under control. They needed to get Ned and MJ back home, before their parents started worrying, and needed to get some food into Peter, and get him to go to bed. They needed to make sure that everything was back to normal, that they were the only ones affected, and then make sure Midnight Rider was doing as she promised. There was so much to do, and it didn't feel like there was enough time to do it.

"Okay, here's what we will do," Steve took over, and thank goodness for that, because honestly Tony had way too many thoughts in his head to focus on any one thing. "Natasha, you will take Ned and MJ home, make sure they and their parents are safe, and then you can come back here. FRIDAY will make sure that everyone is safe, and that everything is back to normal now that we are back, while I make a quick trip to make sure Midnight Rider isn't planning anything. Tony, you and May will get Peter sorted out, maybe put a movie on for us all to watch when we get back."

Tony let out a sigh of relief. He could look after Peter. Ir was a simple task, and he didn't even need to do it himself.

Everyone spread out then, all of them starting their assigned tasks, except Bruce who hadn't been given a anything to do, and seemed to be heading to his room.

"Peter, go an get ready for bed," Tony said gently to the teenager who still seemed barely able to believe that it was all real, and not a horribly realistic dream, "May and I will get some food started."

"Yeah that-" Peter muttered, shaking himself out of an exhausted gaze, "sounds like a good idea. I'll be back soon."

"You'll do no such thing," May said before Peter could take a single step. "You need a shower, maybe a long relaxing bath. I don't care, just go and relax in some water. You've spent weeks trying to get us back, but we're here now. You can stop now."

There were definitely tears brimming over in Peter's eyes as he nodded and turned to walk away, tears of relief though, not that kind that Tony felt required bringing up. He'd leave Peter to have this cry in peace. Tony smiled at May over his shoulder as he turned to grab some ingredients out of the fridge, glad that between the two of them they would be able to get Peter back to rights.

"What are we cooking?" May asked as she came to stand next to him, accepting the ingredients handed over.

"I'm thinking stir-fry," Tony shrugged, "not too difficult, shouldn't take too long either."

"Sounds good."

\----

"Smells good," Steve grinned as he walked back into the kitchen twenty minutes later, his hair windswept and messy, but looking toorelaxed for Tony to even ask what was going on with Midnight Rider. He wouldn't look that relaxed unless he knew for certain that she was planning to keep his word.

"Thanks, it's nearly done," Tony said, grabbing some plates out, "can you see if you can find Peter and Bruce, I think they're in their rooms."

"On it." Steve turned around, walking out the room in the opposite direction to the one he entered from, heading towards the rooms, rather than the elevator out.

"Thank you," Tony yelled after him, smiling over at May when their eyes met. He was glad that this was his family, thankful that h wasn't alone, that Peter wasn't alone after everything he had clearly been through.

\---

Later that night, as the credits rolled across the screen, with dirty dishes spread everywhere, and Peter's warm weight settled against his side, Tony thought it again.

Thank goodness this group of ragtag friends formed. Thank goodness that Tony found himself apart of this family. Thank goodness that they didn't have to be alone anymore.

"I almost lost you," Tiny whispered against Peter's hair, too quiet for any of the rest of them to overheat, "what would I have done if you'd thrown yourself away like that, kid?" He knew the answer. He would have crumbled, he would have lost a child, a bright spark just waiting to grow into a roaring flame. He'd have been lost, and he was glad he would never find out what that would have driven him to do.

It was okay, he breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. Peter wasn't his. He was right next to Tony.

Peter wasn't better yet, not by a long way, but the light was starting to return to his eyes, and he was actually sleeping again. FRIDAY had reported that nothing was amiss, both Ned and MJ were home safe. Everything was finally starting to settle back to normal.

They were safe again.

They were together again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!!  
> Kudos and comments mean the world to me!!  
> Have an awesome week!!


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